5 Painful Things I Learned From My Spinal Slipped Disk

Do you recall those moments when experience has taught you a hard painful  lesson you could’ve learned if you’d just listened?

Recently I had an unpleasant painful experience.  At the end of a long day I had pain on the lower right side of my spine.  The next day I had more physical work to do only to aggravate the pain even worse. 

Long nights and short sleep was the norm. After three days later my Chiropractor quickly diagnosed that my “L4” had slipped out.  The L4 is the fourth disk of the spine from the bottom up.  It had slipped out and was causing excruciating pain making me unable to do a lot of (even simple) things. (Here’s a video that explains that if you’re interested).

It’s aggravating when you can’t do even the simplest things in life, like lifting anything heavier than 10lbs., like slouching on the couch or enjoying my hammock. 

These are simple things, but I can't do any of it until that disk is completely healed. 

My Chiropractor put the disk back in its place (thank God), but he said I would still be in pain for several days.  He wasn't kidding!  

There are a few things I've learned from this painful experience that are beyond a slipped disk.  You know, those things that you wish you could do, but cant.  Those areas in life you know can be fixed (like your kids, your boss, economy, etc.) but for some reason or another you can't do anything about? 

Well, here are 5 Painful Things I Learned From My Spinal Slipped Disk 


1.     The time factor.  
As much as I believe and have experienced miracles of healing, finances, etc., yet there are those times when God chooses to take his time to heal your pain.  Some things need time.  The body sometimes needs time to heal, recuperate, and re-energize. 

Likewise, there are things in our lives where time is a factor in the healing process. So take advantage of the time you have when going through a painful healing process to accomplish what you can't do during your busy times.  Allow time to heal the pains of the heart, relationships, and the pain you have caused yourself by being so hard on yourself. 

Time is of the essence to allow God’s healing power to penetrate the recesses of our minds and hearts restoring us to painless relationships.


2.  Faith.  
It is important that during the process of anxious waiting and healing, that your faith grows instead of faint. Fainted faith is a hopeless reality we must all fight against.  

I choose to grow my faith and trust in God that not only will I be OK, but that I will be healed completely, and back to action soon.  

This type of attitude will energize your today, giving you tremendous hope for tomorrow.  Like somebody once said:  “attitude is everything and everything is attitude.”


3.  Learning time.  
Though it is unbiblical and unlike God to give us pain in order to teach us various lessons, yet the truth is that when pain actually does come he always uses it as a tool. 
 
Weather by nature or by demonic attack, pain comes, and though God didn't give it, he will still use it to bring growth to our lives and stretch out faith.  Meanwhile, he gets glory out of our growth and the evil one gets egg on his face.  The speed of the process will determine the longevity of our learning time.

During this time, be open to learn.  Learn from this painful experience and allow your heart and mind to be filled with expectation, anticipation, and faith that you will be healed.

Fainted faith is a hopeless reality we must all fight against. 
                                 --- Alex Colόn @therebrandedlife.com 
                                     Please Tweet This

4.  Be thankful.  
My wife just reminded me that my spinal slipped disk could've been worse.  I could've been paralyzed, or could have needed other medical attention.  I am still moving around, doing different things, like typing this post, etc.  I just can't sit or stand for long periods of time.

Being thankful is a good indication of your faith and trust in God.  A thankful heart helps the healing process advance more rapidly.  Most of us are not thankful by nature.  When used to quick fixes, being thankful for a slow process is not an easy attitude to have. 

But it is a Must!  I find that when I'm thankful it helps me wait patiently for the healing to take place.  Imagine that!

Even more – I quickly realize that there are others in worse shape than me.  Being thankful is a great lesson to learn from a painful spinal slipped disk.


5.  Reflect.  
During those times when you have to wait and can't do a whole lot, take time to reflect.  We should be doing this on a consistent basis anyway.  

Meditation and reflecting on God's goodness, like your blessings, family, good development on your kids and such is a good habit to form.  How about reflecting on what you have accomplished and how faithful God has been to you?

Enjoy the moment

I've had time to reflect on God's blessings, while allowing my mind to connect with my emotions in a constructive way helping me plan for the future.  These are important and special times.  

Often in life we slip into a routine that causes us pain.  During those times it is important to take time to learn, to be thankful, and reflect with an unshakable faith in motion hoping planning to experience a better tomorrow.

These are just some of the painful things I learned from my spinal slipped disk.  And I’m putting every one of them into practice right now.


Question: I wonder what other things have you learned while waiting for pain to heal?   Leave your comments below to make this post better and help others learn through their painful healing process.